Real Estate Principles in California Flashcards
Ch2. Real Property- Deed Requirements:
You can’t transfer property unless the deed
IS WILD. (p.17)
IDENTIFIES
SIGNED
WRITING
INTENT
LAND
DELIVERED
Ch3. Encumbrances-Mechanic’s Liens: preliminary notice must be given ___ days in advance
notice must be given within 20 days of first furnishing labor, services, equipment, or materials to job site (p 21)
Ch3. Encumbrances-Mechanic’s Liens: Filing Period for mechanic’s liens
- if owner records a Notice of Completion:
- contractor has 60 days to file a mechanic’s lien
- all others have 30 days (e.g. subcontractors/suppliers) - if no Notice of Completion is recorded, a person has 90 days following completion of a project
Ch3. Public Restrictions - Zoning Symbols:
M-1
R-1
R-3
M-1. Light industrial or manufacturing
R-1. Single Family residence
R-3. Multiple Family
Ch3. Encroachment:
Time limit that legal action must be instituted?
- encroachment on land–within 3 years (of encroachment)
- encroachment into air space– no time limit
note: trespasser can eventually acquire an easement by prescription or title by adverse posession
Ch3. Title Protections - HOMESTEAD def:
CA law which gives limited protection to homeowner’s equity from forced sale by the court to pay unsecured judgment creditors.
Does not protect against foreclosure or recorded liens.
Homestead may be created by recording a “DECLARATION” or by claiming it during court foreclosure through “AUTOMATIC” exemption as allowed by law
Ch3. Title Protections, through HOMESTEAD - Max $ amount of exemption?
a. $175,000 - anyone 65/+ (single/married); anyone physically or mentally disabled, regardless of age; 55/+ with low income and sale is involuntary
b. $100,000 - married person or head of household
c. $75,000 - all other single persons
Ch3. Title Protections, Homestead - How is it created?
by recording a DECLARATION or by claiming it during court foreclosure through AUTOMATIC exemption
*note: homestead does not protect against foreclosure or recorded liens (money encumbrances)
Ch3. Title Insurance - What is included in the abstract of title?
- Title Plants - extensive files of abstracters which classified and summarized histories of real estate transactions
- Chain of Title - history of all recorded conveyances and encumbrances. a continuous record of each grantor and grantee
(pg. 28)
Ch3. Title Insurance -
- What is the standard policy of title insurance?
- What does it protect against?
- CLTA - CA Land Title Assoc
- Protects against:
a. Matters of Record - Documents recorded:- in county recorder’s office
- in federal land office
- by State of CA in Sacramento
- by any taxing agency
- in county clerk’s office
b. Forgery
c. Impersonation or lack of capacity of a party to a transaction
d. Federal estate taxes; attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred to defend a title
p. 28
Ch3. Hazard Insurance -
“Insurance” definition (3 ways)?
- Transfer risk of loss from insured to insurance company
- Substitution of certainty for uncertainty. By suffering a small loss (payment of premium) insured is protected against uncertain large loss.
- Protects cost of replacement in event of loss
Ch3. Hazard Insurance - Rates?
Quoted for each $100 of insurance.
If the rate on a 3 year fire insurance policy is $.90 per $100 on a $300,000 property, the premium would be $2700.00
Ch3. Escrow -
a. definition?
b. financial code definition?
a. Essentially a small and short-lived trust arrangement in which escrow holder acts as a stakeholders for two parties, usually a buyer and seller
b. “Escrow means any transaction wherein one person, for the purpose of effecting the sale, transfer, encumbering or leasing of real or personal property to another person, delivers any written instrument, money, evidence of title to real or personal property, or other things of value to a third person to be held by such third person until the happening of a specified even or the performance of a prescribed condition, when it is then to be delivered to such third person to a grantee, grantor, promisee, promisor, obligee, obligor, bailee, bailor, or any agent or employee of any of the latter.”
p. 30
Ch2. Community Property - Sales (p.12)
Either spouse may SELL community personal property for valuable consideration (except furnishings and clothings) but a gift requires written consent of other spouse.
A sale of real property may be attempted by one spouse but other spouse has 1 YEAR after deed is recorded to void sale.
Ch1. Less-than-freehold estate aka nonfreehold estate - LEASE PROVISIONS:
Termination of lease - written notice terms?
- period tenancy (month-to-month) require 30 DAYS written notice (landlord/tenant) if tenant resided LESS THAN 1 YEAR
Tenant resided +1 year?
- landlord must give 60 DAY notice
- tenant must give 30 DAY notice
Ch3. Escrow - Closing statements:
Proration - 2 accounting steps (p. 32)
a. establish who is to be charged (debited) and on whose closing statement it will appear:
1. if the item has been paid to a period BEYOND close of escrow - debit the BUYER
2. if the item is unpaid by close of escrow, it is said to be SHORT of escrow - debit the SELLER
b. calculate amount of money involved (prorate):
- use 30 days as one month
- use 360 days as one year (referred to as banker’s year or escrow year)
example on p. 32
Ch4. Business Opportunity -
a. Bill of Sale def?
b. Requirements?
a. Document used to transfer title to personal property
b. Requires:
- Description of property
- name of buyer
- signature of seller (no acknowledgment)
Ch4. Bulk Sales - Requirements: (p36)
Transferee (purchaser) must give public notice 12 DAYS before transfer. Accomplished w/ a “Notice of Intention to Sell”. This notice must be:
- Recorded at county recorder’s office (notice will not show names of creditors)
- Published in legal notices’ section of newspaper
- Sent to county tax collector
Ch4. Business Opportunities - Bulk Sales: Controlled by?
Division 6 of Uniform Commercial Code
Ch4. Business Opportunities - Personal Property Loans:
a. Technically referred to as?
b. Controlled by?
a. Security Transaction of Personal Property
b. Division 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code….
note: Personal property loans covers most transactions intended to create a security interest in personal property
Ch4. Business Opportunities - CA Sales and Use Tax:
a. Sales Tax
b. Use Tax
Sales Tax - a tax is imposed upon all retailers for the privilege of selling tangible personal property
Use Tax - a tax imposed on the use or consumption of personal property purchased outside the state but to be used within CA
Ch4. Business Opportunities - California Sales and Use Tax:
a. Rate of CA Sales and Use Tax?
b. Penalties (amount)?
a. 7.50% of gross sales price
Some counties impose additional tax to support transit district and other projects
b. 10% for late filing by retailer PLUS 25% if delay due to fraud or evasion
Ch4. Business Opportunities - Alcoholic Beverage Control Act:
License fees (p.38)
$12,000 fee must accompany an application for an original on-sale or off-sale General (Liquor) license
$4,500 for a seasonal business
Sale price of license cannot exceed $12,000 unless license is older than five years.
Since new licenses are extremely limited and not always available, existing licenses are usually valued far in excess of the $12,000 fee
Ch4. Business Opportunities - Financial Statements:
What is a balance sheet, and what do they include?
A statement of the financial position at a given point in time, .. listing assets, liabilities and net worth
- Assets: the economic resources of a company or what is owned.
- Liabilities: creditor’s claims or what is owed
- Net worth: represents owner’s equity or the difference bw assets and liabilities.
Assets (what is owned) - liabilities (what is owed) = net worth